1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for removing contaminants from a site containing granular material containing the contaminants being affixed thereto. More specifically, the invention relates to a method and an apparatus for the on-site removal of contaminants from sand and soil and returning of the cleaned sand and soil to the site.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Chemicals have become an important part in our society and have become prevalent in our environment. In many cases in the past, disposal of these chemicals did not receive the proper attention. As a result, many instances can be found where these past disposal practices, or mere carelessness, have led to environmental pollution which must be addressed at the present time. One very common environmental pollution is the pollution of the soil.
Soil pollution can occur from a variety of sources. At chemical dumps, containers of contaminants have been buried in the ground. Over a period of time, some of the containers may have ruptured resulting in the percolation of the contaminants into the soil. At electrical battery assembly plants, lead may have contaminated the soil. Other industrial activities have left oil, toxic chemicals and other undesirable compounds in the soil. Old gasoline stations have underground storage tanks which may have leaked gasoline into the earth. Oil spills at sea have fouled beaches and shorelines on virtually every continent. Because of these problems, developing an efficient method of cleaning the earth of the pollution is both socially desirable and commercial viable.
The current method for cleaning contaminated soil involves excavating the site, loading the soil and contaminants into containers, and moving the containers to a plant for processing. New, clean soil is deposited at the site to replace the old soil.
These methods have proved to be effective techniques for cleaning contaminated sites and removing pollutants from the site. However, while these methods have been effective in removing the contaminants, these methods are not particularly efficient. These methods rely primarily on massive earth removal including the excavation and moving of the entire volume of soil and contaminants from the site. This may require the transportation of large volumes of earth over great distances, depending on the location of the processing plant. Numerous vehicles, workers and time are required to accomplish this task. Such an earth moving project is therefore expensive because of the resources needed to undertake the project. In addition, these projects are time consuming because of the numerous vehicle and trips required to transport the large volumes of earth.
The multiple trips increase the danger of an environmental spill or other accident harmful to person or property. Additional damage is effected to collateral resources, such as increasing the wear and tear on the roads and the like.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for removing contaminants from a granular material which removes the contaminants from the granular material without the need for transporting the granular material from the site.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for removing contaminants from a granular material in which the excavated soil is cleaned at the site and returned to the ground and only the contaminants are removed from the site for disposal.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for removing contaminants from a granular material utilizing a mobile processor means.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus to remove contaminants from granular material which is mobile and completely self-contained.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for removing contaminants from a granular material which are more efficient than previous methods.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for removing contaminants from a granular material which is less expensive than previous methods.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for removing contaminants from a granular material which is less time consuming than previous methods.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for removing contaminants from a granular material which is safer for person, property and the environment than previous methods.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for removing contaminants from a granular material which is less destructive of collateral resources than previous methods.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.